Listening to National Public Radio this morning, I heard echoes of the article I filed last night.

The article: “Columbia rally sparks debate over women’s issues” is the online title. It is a brief exploration of the way that Todd Akin’s comments effectively catapulted women’s health issues into the spotlight on the national campaign trail — including here in Boone County, where Rep. Mary Still is running to replace Sen. Kurt Schaefer in his 19th District Missouri Senate seat.

The radio piece: “Akin’s rape comments give Democrats ammunition” is a brief exploration of, well, the way that Todd Akin’s comments effectively catapulted women’s health issues into the spotlight on the national campaign trail.

But the similarity of topics isn’t what caught my ear. I heard two people quoted in the NPR story who said essentially the same things that Still and Schaefer had said to me yesterday in separate interviews.

“That’s not a profile in courage²,” Still said about one of the bills¹ her opponent helped pass, which he holds up as evidence for his support of women.

“Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki says it’s no profile in courage² to condemn the phrase legitimate rape,” Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep said on NPR.

and

“Todd Akins’s idiocy is a very convenient diversion for Rep. Still,” Schaefer said about the discussion of abortion rights and birth control surrounding a Planned Parenthood Action Fund rally at his opponent’s campaign office.

“It’s a distraction, and we don’t need any distractions, especially the week before our own convention,” Republican consultant Ed Rodgers was quoted telling NPR. “…Rogers says this controversy is a gift to Democrats and an albatross for Romney,” said Morning Edition host Ari Shapiro.

It’s interesting to see these resemblances in talking points about the same issue on the same day from different sources.

—

¹ Senate Bill 628, sponsored by Schaefer, passed this spring and takes effect in just a few days on Aug. 28. Among a host of other judicial reforms, the legislation includes automatic suspension of paternity proceedings cases when a father is accused of raping his child’s mother.

² The phrase “profile in courage” was coined decades ago with the publication of John F. Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage,” which tells the stories of eight courageous senators who risked their political careers for the sake of their principles.

Filed under: Elections, National Politics, Politics, Reporter's Notebook, State politics, Uncategorized